Eliud Inzunza '20 Recruiting Profile

When I was born my mother could not afford to raise me so she made the difficult decision to leave me with my grandparents in Mexico and come to the United States to look for work. At a young age I began working construction with my grandfather which is where I learned mathematics. My grandpa showed me how to calculate construction materials by using mathematical equations. This helped me to learn higher-level math and take advanced placement courses in that subject area.

I came to the United States when I was eleven years old from San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora in Mexico. Adapting to a new culture, a new country, and a new educational system was challenging for me. At first, it was difficult to understand the language, but, I sought help from my teachers and tutors, and dedicating time at home for studying. Without that support, I would not have been able to enroll in high school level English or math during my freshman year.

During that time my father worked for a drug cartel and to keep me safe he had to stay away from me. Leaving me to grow up without my parents at a very young age and I missed them a lot. While my mother was living in the United States, she met a man and had two children with him, he did not approve of my mother’s wish to bring me to the United States to live with them. He was also physically and verbally abusive to her.  My biological father wanted me to go with my mom to the United States so he attempted to cross the border with me illegally. While crossing the river at five years old, my dad noticed the border patrol officers so to not be found, my father submerged me underwater and I almost drowned. I was traumatized by this incident. After my mother left that abusive relationship she met another man who finally helped her to bring me to the United States legally. 

Through my difficult upbringing I want my story to make a positive impact in the lives of others. My resiliency and strong determination to accomplish my dreams will always be the driving force to do better in life. Adapting to a new culture and a new life has not been an easy process, but my dreams have been bigger than my fears.

Originally, I started playing soccer at the age of 5 and that is where I learned how to kick a ball. However, after not making the soccer team at my local high school, I was encouraged to tryout for the football team. So I did and I made the team as the starting kicker. At that point is where my love for football started. It always kept me disciplened and motivated to do good in both my academics and personal life. I want to continue playing footbal at a competitive level and playing for Fresno State will be such an honor. Fresno State is my dream school as I'm a product of the Central Valley!

At this point in my life I realized that staying positive and doing what is right will give me an opportunity to create the future that I have always dreamed of. That future includes building a home for my grandparents and designing my own projects. Engineering and Architecture can be the pathway to help other people have a roof over their heads, I want to give back to the less fortunate because that was me at a point in my life.